Oil World Turns Upside Down As U.S. Sells Oil In The Middle East: We call it Good News Friday because it’s a chance for David and Tim to share some good news from across the nation and around the world. We don”€™t often hear good news from the media, but here on WallBuilders Live, we are about to share with you just some of the good things happening right now. In this episode, we talk about Wisconsin Union membership plummeting in the wake of worker freedom laws and the amazing budget savings! An Illinois university rescinding policy that restricted speech to less than 1 percent of campus! A California court ruling the Second Amendment extends to gun sales that could ease zoning laws on gun stores! The U.S. Selling oil in the Middle East! And more!

Air Date: 03/23/2018

On-air Personalities: David Barton, Rick Green, and Tim Barton

Listen:

Download: Click Here

Transcription note:  As a courtesy for our listeners’ enjoyment, we are providing a transcription of this podcast. Transcription will be released shortly. However, as this is transcribed from a live talk show, words and sentence structure were not altered to fit grammatical, written norms in order to preserve the integrity of the actual dialogue between the speakers. Additionally, names may be misspelled or we might use an asterisk to indicate a missing word because of the difficulty in understanding the speaker at times. We apologize in advance.

Faith And The Culture

Rick:

Welcome to the intersection of faith and the culture.  This is WallBuilders Live! Where we talk about the day”€™s hottest topics on policy, faith, and other things that are intersecting in the culture.

We’re here with David Barton, America’s premier historian and the founder of WallBuilders. Also, Tim Barton, he”€™s a national speaker, pastor, and president here at WallBuilders. My name is Rick Green, I’m a former Texas state legislator.

You can find out more about us at our websites – WallBuildersLive.com and also WallBuilders.com.

You found us on a Friday which means it’s Good News Friday around here at WallBuilders. We always use Friday to talk about some of the good news that has happened over the last few weeks and months – most of which has not been covered by the major media. But there have been a lot of victories out there and it’s important for us to know those things. It reminds us that when you get engaged, when you work the system, the system works. We are blessed to have all the tools at our fingertips we need to impact our culture.

So, David and Tim you guys have been collecting some good news stories. I’m looking forward to hearing them. Tim, you’re up first today.

Tim:

Well, that’s a change, but I will embrace it. So, this is from Madison, Wisconsin. And one of the things we’ve identified before, if you back up and look at elections and we’ve talked about elections have consequences, and a lot of things can flow from that. Back up to 2010 when there was a boom of the Tea Party idea that we want to see less government, we want to have less taxes.

But actually, there was a lot of pro religious liberty, there was a lot of pro faith, there was a lot of pro life, and a lot of things just kind of came as an outflow of that. And not just at a federal level, really, to a lot of state levels and we saw this possibly even more at state levels.

Unions in Wisconsin

Tim:

But in Madison, Wisconsin one of the things that happened back– 2011 they signed an act to essentially restrict what unions could do in Wisconsin. Governor Walker signed it into law and it was really designed to make unions not quite as coercive and abusive as they had the right in power to be.

And one of the things that certainly historically we look at is when many of these things, like the union for example, were created, there was a need for, there was a reason, there was a necessity. There was a problem and this was part of the solution to fix it was a union. And then what it’s grown into is certainly not what it was intended to be.

Now, whether we talk about affirmative action you could look at many universities that are out there today when they were created as Bible schools to train ministers of the Gospel and now they’re very much anti Christian. They’ve just kind of morphed into something they were never intended to be. Well, that’s what a lot of unions have become.

And so when they did this back in 2011, they passed a thing called Act 10 to really kind of limit unions. It changed a lot of the landscape in Wisconsin. So, this is a study from last year identifying a lot of the changes that they’ve seen as an outgrowth of this.

And by the way, they also then passed, essentially, I guess what we would in our states know as a Right to Work law where you could not be coerced to be in a union at certain jobs, and you have to pay these dues, etc.. So, it took the teeth out of the unions. The reason it’s significant though, and the reason it’s good news, is because since 2011 when there was the first legislation implemented the state of Wisconsin has saved over five billion dollars just by reducing the union stuff they were dealing with in their state.

Major Savings

David:

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. How much?

Tim:

Five billion with a “€œB”€.

Rick:

Alright, and that’s how many years? That’s only what, three years, four years?

Tim:

So, it happened in 2011, I think it was 2014 that they did the right to work. But, so 2011, so depending on– did this happen in January 2011 or the end of the year, I don’t know. So, I don’t know if we’re talking seven years or eight years. But either way, this is a major, major, savings that’s come as a result of this implementation.

My dad’s doing the math so I’ll keep suggesting some of these things from this article. One of the things they point out is not only that this five billion, it also, Milwaukie for example, the public schools of Milwaukee, it saved their school over a billion dollars from, I guess, presumably the teacher’s union. But you’re seeing the savings across the board which is just remarkable the amount of money.

And the union, it looks like it’s the smallest it’s been in Wisconsin. In Madison, for example, it’s only 5.4 percent of people that have jobs are part of a union there. They’ve identified the numbers of the state and it’s declined in– it looks like in six years the union has declined almost 40 percent of the people that are in unions. So, major declines, people, generally speaking, are happy to get out, enjoy the right to work.

But 5 billion dollars is a major savings and they’ve become one of the 25 plus states, whatever it is, that have these right to work laws that really put restrictions on unions. Which is really a good deal giving freedom to the workers, freedom of the people. But it’s amazing how much money it’s saved for this state.

Saved Almost the Annual Budget

David:

Let me let me put this in– because when you said five billion I thought, “€œThe budget of Wisconsin can’t be much bigger than that.”€ And the budget in Wisconsin is 6 billion. So, just making one reform saved almost the annual budget of Wisconsin for a full year.

Tim:

After only seven or eight years of implementation.

David:

Wow.

Tim:

So, that is a significant portion. Because now, you’re talking about 15-20 percent of their yearly budget they are saving just by changing and going to a right to work. Which of course is free to the employers, gives more freedom to the employees, so it really is a good deal all the way around.

David:

It gives them freedom of choice and unions tend to be pro choice. I don’t know why they’re pro-choice on abortion, but not pro-choice on labor which is a weird–

Tim:

Well, because they want to be coercive, right? So, I’m pro abortion because I want you to do that. But pro-choice is really a deceiving term when we talk about abortion and pro-choice. Because you’re really not pro-choice – you’re pro abortion is what you are. But you’re right, they’re not pro-choice when it comes to work and there’s many things we could point to.

Nonetheless, as we identified, when unions started there was some really good things they were trying to do protecting workers, and protecting the health of workers, there was a really good deal. Well, now we’re at a place where unions have morphed from being very good, very beneficial, and healthy, to being very abusive and, often, very corrupt. And so as we’ve seen here in Wisconsin it saved the state five billion dollars. Which, again, is just remarkable. So, if you live in a state that”€™s a union state–

David:

And they didn’t wipe out unions, they only altered. Unions still exist.

Other States Should Be Paying Attention!

Tim:

So, unions can now just no longer force you to be part of the Union. And so it can’t be coercive anymore – you have a choice now. And by giving choices it has saved the state five billion dollars. Again, so if you”€™re in a state where you are– your state”€™s a pro union state and if you would like to save a little money, right, have a little less taxes, maybe–

David:

Have some more freedom. Like letting workers choose.

Tim:

That”€™s it. Maybe you need to be a right to work state and enjoy some of these benefits and some of this freedom. And maybe even a little less taxes might be a nice deal.

Rick:

I would think other states would be paying attention to this, right. This should be like a huge banner saying, “€œYou should do this as well.”€ If you’re one of the ones that isn’t yet right to work and doesn’t have these reforms. So, more liberal states need to be paying attention. Big, big, savings right here.

Quick break. We’ll be right back with more good news. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Moment From American History

This is Tim Barton from WallBuilders with another moment from American history.

The Reverend James Caldwell was a famous minister during the American War for Independence. His sermons taught liberty and God’s opposition to tyranny.

The British hated him and tried to kill him. So, for his own protection he would actually take loaded pistols with him into the pulpit and lay them beside his Bible as he preached. In the 1780 Battle of Springfield, the Americans ran out of wadding for their guns which was like having no ammunition.

Pastor Caldwell ran inside a nearby church and returned with an armload of Watt Hymnals, the pages of which would provide the much needed wadding. He took this great Bible based hymnal, raised in the air, and shouted to the troops,”€Now put to watts into them, boys!”€  This pastor’s ingenuity saved the day for the Americans.

For more information or Pastor James Caldwell and other Colonial Patriots go to WallBuilders.com

Rick:

Welcome back. Thanks for staying with us here on WallBuilders Live. It’s Good News Friday today and we’re about to get some more good news. David Barton is up next – David–

Free Speech on Campus

David:

Rick, let me start with some stuff that relates to the First Amendment. This is a good victory for the Constitution, for the First Amendment. We’ve talked in previous programs and we even had those several programs in a row from the PFLC, our legislators conference, talking about what’s going on in colleges and universities.

And one of the problems in colleges and universities is that they do not defend the Constitution, or protect it, or even allow you to exercise it in certain areas – especially in free speech areas. And you have some, this year it’s about 40 percent of universities and colleges that still have free speech zones where you have to go to this particular area of campus if you are going to have any opinion outside of what the university tells you to have. So, if you want to express your opinion you have to go to a specific location on the campus to do so and you have to have permission to do so. All of that violates the Constitution.

So, one of the things we encouraged legislators to do was if any of your schools, your state universities, your colleges, have free speech zones do not fund them until they get rid of that. Why would you use taxpayer dollars to fund something that is clearly unconstitutional, that when it gets into the courts always lose. And so not only are you funding something that violates the Constitution, you’re actually having the university use state funds to have their attorneys to try to defend things that violate the Constitution.

So, within that framework I have here a list of some recent victories on this where that universities are changing away from free speech zones because the courts are telling them to. Not because they particularly want to, but because they have to. But let me go to Southern Illinois University. SIU, they have about 16oo acres on campus. Sixteen hundred acres, that’s a fair size location, and what they do is they have a free speech zone on cam– And by the way, 1600 acres is about three square miles, okay.

So, three square miles, they have a location on campus where you can go to exercise your free speech. It is a zone that is about 900 square feet. In other words, it”€™s 30 by 30 which is smaller than a three car garage.

One One Thousandth of One Percent

David:

So, you’ve got about three square miles of space on this campus, they give you the equivalent of a three car garage to go express your opinion, You can’t share it with other students unless they happen to come to your free speech zone. This literally makes up not 1 percent, not one tenth of one percent, not one one hundredth of one percent, but one one thousandth of one percent is all they allow for free speech on campus.

Rick:

Not one one thousandth of the campus–

Tim:

Yeah, not one one thousandth of the campus, one one thousandth of one percent of the campus.

Rick:

Yes.

Tim:

That’s math that my brain can barely do, but I know it’s really small.

Rick:

But it’s because they’re so tolerant and wanting other people to share their views, right. That’s their reason for giving so much space here is the typical liberal tolerance of opposing views I”€™m sure.

David:

Well, you get access to the other 99.999 percent of the campus as long as you have their views. If you’re expressing their views then you have access to the rest of the campus. Sorry, obviously–

Rick:

Which, actually, David, that’s okay because these are private institutions that have absolutely zero public dollars. We haven’t put any tax dollars in– Oh wait, no, we have and continue to put billions and billions of tax dollars into these, can I even say institutions anymore? They’re more like indoctrination–

David:

Oh, they are institutions kind of like jails are institutions–

Rick:

Yeah.

David:

–and kind of like, well–

When Will They Say Enough is Enough?

Rick:

When are our legislators going to say, “€œenough is enough”€.

David:

Well, hopefully out of the Family Legislative Network some legislators are willing to do that. But you know like I know, you remember that if you do anything as a legislator that touches education–

Rick:

Oh my.

David:

–that is a sacred golden calf–

Rick:

Yep.

David:

–and boy do they have you in their sights.

Rick:

Yep, no doubt.

David:

By the way, sacred golden calf for those that don’t know, that’s a reference to what happened in the Bible where that Aaron set up the golden calf and then you had Jeroboam set up the golden calf. So, that’s where they came to worship. And you don’t ever mess with somebody”€™s idle. When you mess with their idol they get really upset. So, that’s where they went after Gideon and his sons because they felt he messed up the idol to dagon, etc..

So, all of that golden calf thing, that’s just saying this is something you don’t want to touch because if you do they will attack you for touching it. And education’s one of the things that they don’t want reforms, they want to be left alone to do what they want to do without any oversight, any supervision, any common sense very often. And so here’s one where the courts are struck it down.

Universities All Over

David:

Here’s another one. This one goes out to California, Cal State University. They were using their free speech policies to shut down free speech including Ben Shapiro who was coming to campus. Young Americans for Freedom scheduled Shapiro on campus and they used their free speech policies to shut down Shapiro from, God forbid, that he should have an opinion different from what’s taught on campus or that he should encourage students to think for themselves or see the other side of the argument. So, obviously Cal State, with taxpayer dollars, had to make sure he was not allowed to do that.

Here’s another one. This is out of the University of Pennsylvania, another one of those private universities that we have there where that Students for a Life actually had permission to write some chalk messages in the approved free speech zone. And then when they did so the university made them it. So, even after they had permission it wasn’t what the university wanted, so they had to erase it. And, again, they got whacked as well.

So, this is going on all over the nation that we win these cases every time they go to court. But we have to spend excessive amounts of money, and the state universities do as well, to defend absurd policies that never win. And hopefully, folks, contact your legislator and say, “€œHave you looked at our state universities? If they have a speech code on campus, if they have a speech zone on campus, you need to withhold funds until they get constitutional.”€ And this is the essence – if you can’t have the right to free speech you can”€™t have a free government – those two go hand in hand.

Rick:

And, bro, it’s just going to keep coming back to it’s our money that they’re spending to do this. So, when you say they’re having to spend money on legal fees as well, that’s our money as well. They’re taking our tax dollars to defend their ridiculous policies and just all the way around. And the only way it’s going to change is for us to just continue to call and hammer those legislators to say, “€œHey, this is a priority.”€

Just look at the percentage of each state budget that goes to these universities – it’s huge, it’s massive, and it’s being used to undermine everything in the culture, everything that our founders believed in. We’ve got to change it.

Alright, I”€™ve got to take a quick break, guys. We’ll be right back. David and Tim Barton with some more good news when we come back here on WallBuilders Live.

Patriot Academy

Have you noticed the vacuum of leadership in America? We’re looking around for leaders of principle to step up and too often no one is there. God is raising up a generation of young leaders with a passion for impacting the world around them. They’re crying out for the mentorship and leadership training they need. Patriot Academy was created to meet that need. Patriot Academy graduates now serve in state capitals around America, in the halls of Congress, in business, in the film industry, in the pulpit, in every area of the culture. They’re leading effectively and impacting the world around them.

Patriot Academy is now expanding across the nation and now is your chance to experience this life changing week that trains champions to change the world. Visit PatriotAcademy.com for dates and locations. Our core program is still for young leaders 16 to 25 years old, but we also now have a citizen track for adults. So, visit the website today to learn more. Help us fill the void of leadership in America. Join us in training champions to change the world at PatriotAcademy.com.

Rick:

We’re back on WallBuilders Live. Thanks for staying with us on this Good News Friday. Tim Barton”€™s got some more good news for us. Tim–

Tim:

Hey, guys, this out of California. And we have talked before about how the Ninth Circuit has made some pretty crazy decisions, but we’ve even had Good News Friday programs talking about how they’ve made some good decisions. So, it seems like whether they’re bipolar, or schizophrenic, or right, whatever it is, that makes them sometimes have really good decisions and sometimes just terrible decisions.

A Gun Store in California

Tim:

Well, this obviously being Good News Friday would be a good decision. And this is related to the Second Amendment which is interesting coming out of California. They have not been noted as being really good on the Second Amendment. Which actually is part of where this originates because there was a group of businessmen who decided they wanted to open a gun store in California. The problem was out in Alameda County they were told, “€œYou’re not allowed to have a gun store here.”€

And so there was some kind of ordinance, right, some kind of city code in place that said they’re not allowed to have a gun store inside of this city perimeter, or whatever it was. And so they said, “€œNo, you can’t stop us.”€ So, they filed suit. Well, it goes all the way up to the Ninth Circuit.

So, again, we’ve talked about the Ninth Circuit. Sometimes they’re crazy, sometimes they”€™re really good. Well, it goes to the Ninth Circuit and the Ninth Circuit came back and looked at the fact that they were denied a zoning permit. So, they were not allowed to build, they could not get their zoning permit, because the laws prevented them from opening a store anywhere in the county. And so the decision came back from the Ninth Circuit striking down the lower court’s decision because it had been upheld all the way to the Ninth Circuit. So, the Ninth Circuit strikes it down–

David:

Now, wait a minute, this is the Fifth Circuit. This was the Texas Circuit that struck that down.

Tim:

No, no, no, these are the California guys.

David:

No way.

Is This Normal?

Tim:

I know. Which, again, we’ve had a couple of Good News Friday programs talking about how crazy it was, but they made some good decisions. And we’ll take them where we can get them from these guys. But what’s crazy to me about this is when the decision was delivered it was a 34 page opinion from the majority. Which, so Rick, help me out – to me that seems like a pretty substantial opinion written from majority. Is that normal for that size coming from this Ninth Circuit Court?

Rick:

That”€™s a lot of reading there. But sometimes it’s 50-60 pages. But, yeah, that’s still a lot.

David:

Yeah.

Rick:

They had a lot to say.

David:

It definitely means they didn’t dodge the issue.  

Rick:

That”€™s right.

Tim:

Well, so to me, right, that’s pretty significant because I’ve seen some rulings come out that weren’t that thick. I’ve even seen U.S. Supreme Court rulings come out that weren’t 34 pages. Which, of course, we’ve seen some of them are 90 pages, and some of them are even more, so certainly there are some large ones. But what–

Rick:

They definitely delved into it.

Tim:

Yeah. What’s significant about this is, so Judge Scandling, and I’m certain I’m pronouncing his name wrong. I feel certain about that. I don’t know how to pronounce it, but here’s what he said. He said, “€œIf the right of the people to keep and bear arms is to have any force, the people must have a right to acquire the very firearm they are entitled to keep and bear.”€

Way Too Logical to be Coming Out of California

David:

Now, wait a minute. That”€™s way too logical to be coming out of California.

Tim:

Yeah.

Rick:

No kidding.

Tim:

He says, “€œOne cannot truly enjoy a constitutionally protected right when the state is permitted to snuff out the means by which he exercises it. One cannot keep arms when the state prevents him from purchasing them.”€ So, incredible logic in the midst of defending the Second Amendment. And this is California, the Ninth Circuit, who normally doesn’t do a great job on a lot of issues.

But here’s one on a Good News Friday we can go, man, this is good news that they’re actually defending the Second Amendment with a logical position. Saying businessmen have a right to open a gun store and you can’t prohibit them from doing that because that’s part of what’s protected in the Second Amendment. So, really cool story, good news coming from California.

David:

And by the way, our apologies to all the great folks in California. We just love kind of hitting on California guys because there’s so much craziness.

Tim:

Well, I’m sure they probably agree with most of what we hit on.  

Rick:

No doubt.

Tim:

Because they’re looking around going, “€œThis is ridiculous.”€

David:

That’s right.

Rick:

They would say the same thing.

Very quick break, guys. We’ll be right back with our last piece of good news for the day. Stay with us. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

Front Sight Handgun Training and Constitution Crash Course

Hey friends, this is Rick Green from WallBuilders Live. Just imagine being able to attend a live class where you learn about the original intent of the Second Amendment, and the rest of the Constitution, while also getting world class training on how to defend yourself and your family with a handgun. I want to personally invite you to come spend the weekend with our family as we get expert handgun defensive training from Front Sight.

We’ll do that during the day and then at night we’re going to provide you with a Constitution Crash Course. Visit RickGreen.com today to learn more about this unique opportunity. It’s happening April 13th and 14th and you can attend for free. No kidding. No exaggeration. We’re giving away this one thousand dollar course for free to the first 100 listeners on WallBuilders Live that register for the course at RickGreen.com.

You’ll learn the real purpose of the Second Amendment and why the founders believed it was so important for we citizens to be armed. I don’t care if you’re marksman or you’ve never held a gun in your life, I can promise you that you will leave this training with improved skills and the confidence to protect your family.

It’s going to be a great weekend a fun, fellowship, learning, and sending a lot of lead downrange. And that one thousand dollar course registration, again, completely waived for the first 100 WallBuilders Live listeners to register. You”€™ve got to pay for your own travel and ammo, but we’re giving you the course for free as a gift to our listeners. I look forward to seeing you on the range April 13th. For all the details visit RickGreen.com today.

Rick:

We’re back on WallBuilders Live. Last segment of good news for today. And, David, I think you’re up next.

OPEC

David:

I am. The headline of this article says, and by the way, this is about energy and oil. And everybody kind of remembers what OPEC is?

Tim:

I think I saw a listener say they didn’t know. So, maybe–

David:

Okay, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries – OPEC. So, these are the guys, particularly in the Middle East, who have driven the price of of oil and gas across the world. They are the major exporters – whether it be Saudi Arabia, or UAE, or all of these countries, they export this. And so when they get upset with America they could shut off the oil flow, and triple our prices, and just so much craziness.

This goes all the way back to the time of Jimmy Carter. They’ve been jerking our chain for just years, and years, and years, and we’ve been like a puppy on a leash with them because we rely on them so much for imported energy.

So, the title of this article says, “€œOil World Turns Upside Down as U.S. Sells Oil in the Middle East”€. Now that seems kind of like selling sand to an Arab. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense except our policies have changed and as a result, what we’re able to– Grab this – in 2015 it was– we had a ban on the U.S. exporting any energy out of the country. So, if you can’t export any energy you’re not going to produce as much or pump as much because you only have so much that you need. And so in 2013 U.S. ports were only handling about 100,000 barrels of oil every day. Guess what it is now?

Tim:

A hundred barrels–

David:

100,000.

Tim:

100,000 barrels a day.

Better Keep Going Up

David:

That’s not all that big. That”€™s not even close to one freighter. That’s not all that big.

Tim:

Hundred and twenty five thousand.

David:

You’d better keep going up.

Tim:

A hundred and twenty six thousand.

David:

Better go up by something on the zero end of things.

Rick:

This is how many barrels? This is in a day, in a week, in a month?

David:

A day. How many barrels a day are we handling. And it was 100,000 barrels a day in 2013 and we had this ban during that time on exporting oil. We are now handling 1.53 million barrels a day.

Tim:

Wow.

David:

So, we just sent a tanker from Houston to the United Arab Emirates, who is one of those really big wealthy countries because of the all the oil. We are selling them oil. The world is turned upside down. We just sent them 700,000 barrels of oil to the UAE.

Oil World Turns Upside Down As U.S. Sells Oil In The Middle East

David:

So, different energy position now, different energy plan. What this is doing for exports out of the country and for income coming into the country. We have found so many new oilfields and new gas fields since we’re allowed to drill again. This is a great indication of things changing, not only in the U.S., but how the U.S. is helping things change across the world as well.

Rick:

More good news at our website. Go to WallBuildersLive.com, click on the archives, and grab those Friday programs. You can get all the good news you need today.

Thanks for listening. You’ve been listening to WallBuilders Live.